


Physical Acts of Intimacy

by clockwork_spider



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Confessions, Discussion, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Time, Fluff, M/M, Sharing Body Heat, Sharing a Bed, Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 08:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13231494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clockwork_spider/pseuds/clockwork_spider
Summary: “At one point,” Edo began, “I assumed you’re like me. But you’re a kind person at the core, Kaiser. The play fighting’s good for the time being, but sooner or later you’ll need someone capable of kindness, who’ll care for you like you care for them.”“And that’s why…” he continued, pausing for breath, “I don’t think this is going to work.’------------------------------About physical acts of intimacy, both sexual and platonic.





	Physical Acts of Intimacy

The first time it happened, they were in the Dark World.

It was completely out of the blues. One moment they were duelling against a few monsters, and the next moment Kaiser Ryou had his arm around Edo’s shoulders.

It was certainly an unusual action, and Edo didn’t quite know how to read it. It didn’t seem like Ryou really considered it either.

“Homesick?” Edo asked.

“Something like that.“

Perhaps they both spent too long without the presence of other humans. Perhaps there’s someone the older duelist missed at home. Edo figured that physical contact was probably just a way for Ryou to stay grounded.

For someone who protruded a cold demeanor, Ryou’s body was just as warm as any other human, and Edo realized that he missed this. Missed it ever since the death of his father. Missed it like he was missing Saiou and Mizuchi.

So he leaned in, and chalked it up to homesickness.

* * *

The second time, they were still in Dark World.

They shared a bed, because there was no central heating system in the Dark World, and sleeping next to each other was the most efficient way of conserving body heat. They face away from each other when they go to sleep, and if they ever wake up facing each other, it wasn’t something worth mentioning.

He was having bad dreams, of finding his father’s body, still warm but rapidly cooling, of losing Saiou to the light, of DD, screaming as he burned in flames. So when he woke up clutching onto Kaiser Ryou for his dear life, Ryou was rubbing circles against his back.

He chalked it up to kindness. After all, Hell Kaiser had a younger brother. It wasn’t unimaginable.

* * *

Third, fourth, fifth. A hand lingering on his shoulder that lingered for way too long. A quick experimental kiss that grew longer than expected. Fingers intertwined together.

They didn’t have a lot of company in Dark World, and physical intimacy was a simple way to mitigate stress.

* * *

They say you could get used to sleeping next to another person, that your body will produce oxytocin when you’re lying next to another body, that oxytocin helps you sleep.

They say that your body will get used to the presence of another beside you.

Back home, on a king size bed of his own, Edo wondered whether Ryou was also lying awake.

* * *

Neither of them was thinking very clearly for the sixth time. It was after a match. Both were high on the adrenaline of their duel. The kiss was clumsy and untethered, teeth met lips, with Edo pressed against the wall of his hotel room.

“Should I continue?” Ryou asks later, as they caught their breath, as they try to decide what to do with the obvious bulges in their pants.

“Are the doors locked?”

(Armed with nothing but their bare hands and limited experience, the sex was far more awkward than satisfactory. In the morning, Ryou promised to be more prepared for the next time.)

* * *

They were, indeed, significantly more prepared the seventh time around. Armed with research and the necessary materials (condoms, lubes, the likes), the two were prepared to take this to the next level. Inexperience was compensated with boldness.

“We’re going to do this, and we’re going to do this properly,” Edo declared, with the usual foolhardy stubbornness.

“Is that a challenge?” Ryou smirked.

“Only if you want it to be, we can stop at any time.”

They slept next to one another that night, and for the first time since Dark World, Edo realized how much he missed it.

* * *

Every time Ryou was over, Edo reminds himself to lower the AC. Too much cold is bad for the heart.

It didn’t take long for him to simply adjust to living a little warmer.

* * *

The eleventh time came in the form of a question.

“What are we?” Ryou asked.

“There’s a term amongst the Pro scene,” Edo answered after a moment of consideration, as he buttoned his shirt, “Rivals with Benefits, it’s more common that you’d think.” He didn’t turn to face Ryou. He’d like to observe Ryou’s expression but did not know what to make of his own.

“Is that what you want us to be?” The question was weighted. Finally, Edo turned.

Ryou’s expression was schooled blank.

“I don’t do hookups,” Ryou explained, “and as far as I know, neither do you.”

“Maybe I have standards.”

“I must be a very fine specimen, then.”

For a minute they just stared at each other as they waited for the other to make a move first, a Mexican standoff of emotional honesty. 

“I want you, Phoenix.” It was Ryou who made the first move. “There’s no one like you.”

 _Cliched_ , but Kaiser’s moves had always been predictable as they were efficient, always cutting straight to the point. At least, Edo thought, it was honest.

Edo remembered the few times where he caught a soft smile on Kaiser’s face, as the man looked to Shou and the rest. He remembered Ryou’s hand against his back that night in the Dark Dimension. He remembered how Ryou had always asked for permission, had always been respectful of his boundaries.

It was kindness.

“At one point,” Edo begun, “I assumed you’re like me. But you’re a kind person at core, Kaiser. The play fighting’s good for the time being, but sooner or later you’ll need someone capable of kindness, who’ll care for you like you care for them.”

“And that’s why…” he continued, pausing for breath, “I don’t think this is going to work.’

“Are you implying that you’re incapable of kindness?” Ryou raised an eyebrow, “that doesn’t seem consistent with what I’ve seen.”

“I’ve always strived to be a righteous person,” Edo deadpanned, “I’ve laid down my life for the sake of others before –“

“That was stupid, by the way.”

“–and I won’t hesitate to do it again. But that doesn’t make me a  _kind_  person. I’ve left the man who raised me for six years to burn in a fire. I’m not…” he struggled, dragging out each word between his teeth, “made for kindness.”

Ryou opened his mouth to answer, but held his tongue. A curious frown appeared between his brows.

“Is that what this is about?” He asked, neutrally.

Edo’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s a loaded question.”

“I don’t intend to change you,” Ryou said, after a pause, “what I know is that I like you as you are now. I don’t really give a damn whether you’re kind or not. If you want us to stop here, I’ll back off and we’ll keep it between duelists.” He paused again, before a slight mocking grin tugged one corner of his mouth. “But seeing that you are truly a ruthless person, you don’t have to worry about sparing my feelings. I  _am_  a consenting adult older than you, if you’re so concerned.”

“I want us to…” the words choked in Edo’s throat. He thought of Ryou’s warmth against his back, the weight of Ryou’s hand on his shoulder, that small, pleased smile. And the truth is, it had never been about sex, it had always been about Ryou.

And it occurred to Edo, as he stood frozen before Ryou, that he was afraid. Afraid to move forward, afraid to let go, afraid to lose Ryou, afraid to be left in the cold, afraid to drag Ryou into the fire. 

And what Edo had always known was that life was an upstream journey, and you either push forward or get swept three steps back. So he said, “I want you to stay.”

He said, as his own voice rang with the rush of blood to his head, “I want you to stay with me.”

And he remembered the smell of fire, so he added, stubbornly, “But I won’t make you happy.”

Ryou exhaled, loudly, before laughing a bit. It was mesmerizing, hearing Ryou’s laugh. Edo realized that he wasn’t the only one holding his breath.

“Well, my friend,” he pulled Edo by the shoulders, and leaned down until their forehead collided in a soft thud, “It’s a hobby of mine to prove you wrong.”

Edo had never stared into Ryou’s eyes this up close. It was surreal, they were staring right into his own, yet too close to be in focus. And despite being fully dressed, Edo felt very, very naked.

But not in a bad way.

“We should get dinner,” he said, a slight giddiness to his voice that he couldn’t possibly cull, “Call it a date.”

He knew a restaurant that serves heart healthy meals.


End file.
